News

On Thursday Dec. 29, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Matthew Edgar was apprehended and taken into custody by the US Marshall Service. He was immediately taken to the Sabine County Jail to await formal sentencing by the court.

As of the Index press time on Dec. 30, very little additional information is available. More will be included in next week’s paper.

You are cordially invited to attend the Jan. 16 Martin Luther King Jr. March and Ceremony. The march will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the corner of East Alabama Avenue and MLK Drive and end at King’s Chapel AMEC at 1810 San Antonio Ave., Many. The speaker for this year’s event will be Judge Agnelis L. Reese.

Reese is a native of Bastrop and an honor graduate of Bastrop High School. She graduated La. Tech University with a double major in sociology and history. In May 1989, she graduated from Southern University Law Center magna cum laude and third in her class. While at Southern she was vice president of the Delta Theta Phi Law Fraternity and president of the Moot Court Board.

Zwolle High School Senior and the current 46th Annual Miss Zwolle Tamale Fiesta Queen, Kaydee Meshell, will join twenty-two others aboard the Louisiana Feed Your Soul Float in the 2023 Rose Bowl Parade on Monday, January 2nd.

The 134th Rose Parade presented by Honda is part of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses in California and features magnificently floral-adorned floats, equestrian units and marching bands. The theme for 2023 is “Turning the Corner”.

Goodwill Chapter No. 128 OES-PHA of Esther Grand Chapter, OES located in Zwolle, La was awarded a two hundred fifty ($250) dollar gift card from Spring Market Grocery Store in Zwolle. With the gift card donated to Goodwill Chapter twenty-two (22) families were blessed with a “Ham” for their Christmas holiday dinner. Sis. Christie W. Williams, Worthy Matron of the Chapter and all the members take this opportunity to express so much appreciation to Pastor Aggie Babers and Apostle Harry Babers of Tabernacle of Love Ministries in Zwolle, La for the use of the ministries’ facilities so that the community recipients of the “Ham” could be given out in a timely fashion and orderly manner. Thank you so much Tabernacle of Love Ministries Family for the love and support. Thanks to Spring Market Grocery Store for the award given, and thank you Goodwill Chapter members for your presence and assistance too. Members present with Worthy Matron Christie W.

Facing another billion- dollar Entergy bill for the cost of hurricane recovery, the Louisiana Public Service Commission may use a new theory suggesting that company shareholders split the cost with customers.

“Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, Entergy customers have borne 100 percent of the cost of storm recovery $20 billion,” said LPSC member Foster Campbell.

“Now we have learned we may have the option to make the company and its shareholders share that burden.”

Last week the commission delayed ruling on Entergy’s request to pass on to ratepayers another $1.6 billion in costs associated with recovery from five named storms in 2020 and 2021. That delay came after testimony by New Orleans lawyer Pat Patrick, hired by the LPSC at Campbell’s request to research its legal obligations on storm recovery.

United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Charles Calvin Akins, 52, of Many, Louisiana, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Elizabeth E. Foote to 15 months in prison, followed by 2 years of supervised release.

Akins was charged in a federal indictment in February 2022 and pleaded guilty to the charge of possession of a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. This charge is a result of an investigation by law enforcement agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) into illegal activities of Akins. Akins is a convicted felon, having been convicted of a felony charge of carnal knowledge of a juvenile in 1988, as well as misdemeanor convictions for aggravated assault and unauthorized use of a movable in 2016.

The Ebarb school system invites all to Homecoming on January 13 at 5 p.m.

All are welcome to come out but especially those whose graduation year was in 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003, and 2013. It is your year for recognition.

The Sabine Parish Early Childhood Network (ECN), under the direction of Early Childhood Director Bridget Corley, was recognized as the Louisiana Department of Education’s top performing early childhood network for the academic year 2021-2022. Sabine’s ECN is comprised of prekindergarten classrooms in each school community as well as four additional classes serving children from birth to age four at Faithlynn’s Learning Academy in Many, LA. For the 2021-2022 school year, Sabine’s Early Childhood Network earned the highest possible rating, “Excellent,” with an overall score of 6.00, the highest awarded score in the state of Louisiana for last school year.

Matea Ferguson had the honor to represent the southeastern region of the United States, the state of Louisiana, Sabine Parish, and the Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb in Las Vegas, Nevada, recently for the 35th Annual Intertribal Agricultural Conference.

Matea was selected as one of the top three from the nation for her essay on food sovereignty. Her essay was written with the passion she has for her heritage and agriculture. Matea introduced three ideas of what can be done to help local communities in Sabine Parish from preserving natural resources, growing fresh produce, and fresh meat availability for families.

It was a very productive and educational week. Networking connections were made along with college and internship offers. Matea has achieved several accomplishments and awards over the years and she is very thankful and blessed to have the support and love from her family, friends, community and tribe.

On December 17 at 10 a.m. all are invited to a Wreath Laying Ceremony to remember our veterans. The ceremony will take place at the St. John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery in Many. Wreaths Across America will be delivering over 150 wreaths between now and December 16 to be placed in cemeteries in the parish. The Fort Jesup Children of America will be hosting this event. They would like to thank all that helped and encourage ALL to come out to support this worthwhile project. As stated by Ronald Reagan “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”